The Bug
by AnimeAries402
Summary: After Sakura discovers a secret about her past, she goes on a training mission that changes a few things. But she never dreamed that those changes would attract a certain missing-nin. What's Sakura to do when this someone will literally fight her to possess her? And just when she finally learned to let him go . . .
1. Prologue One

Full Summary:

What do you do when you discover something that changes everything you know? What began as a really strange morning turned into an even stranger new lease on life. When Sakura finds out the truth about her and her past, she realizes that it's up to her to change the future. What happens to world of ninjas rests with her … and her relationship with a particular missing-nin. And can you believe that it all happens because of a stupid bug?

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The Bug

Prologue One

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As she sat there, huddled tightly in the corner of the room she couldn't help but wonder what she had done to get there. All her life she'd been doing things for others, rarely taking things for herself. So why was it when she finally did take something for herself, it resulted in something like this?

The room was pitch dark, so dark that she couldn't even see what was right in front of her face. She shivered from the dampness of the room, knowing that it probably wasn't the best idea to stay on the cool floor. But at least in the corner she felt some security. Pulling the light blanket even tighter around her shoulders, she crossed her arms across her chest in attempt to keep warm.

When she went to pull her knees up to her chest, she looked down and remembered with a sob that she no longer could. She couldn't keep the tears from escaping her eyes as she laughed. As she thought about it now, it all seemed quite funny in a solemn. She was absolutely out of her mind, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

A small fluttering in her belly snapped her out of her thoughts. She wiped the tears from her cheeks as she sucked in a deep breath. Grasping her swollen belly with two hands, she gently ran her palms over the surface, almost as if she was caressing it. She couldn't afford to lose it now. There was still one soul in this world that needed her, even if it was helpless.

Leaning her head back to the wall, she didn't even bother to wipe the tears away this time. She just let them fall silently down her face. For now she could let everything out, but only just for now. She had to remain strong, for herself and her child.

But there was still that nagging feeling in the back of her mind. It was that one question that she could never seem to answer. Sure she knew how, but she could never bare the truth. How could she have let it go this far? And now with the cold reality before her, she had to face it head on. She knew that no one could hear her, but she opened her mouth to speak anyway,

"Sakura, what happened to you?"

She knew very well what had happened to her. It all began all those months ago, back before she realized how cruel fate could be. And yes, it could be so very cruel.

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...to be continued.

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(AN: This is only the prologue so it is very short. All of my chapters should be much longer. I wanted to try and see what reaction I'd get from this. And yes, I know I changed the summary - I rewrote the whole fic due to recent information I read in the manga. So I had to change a few details, but the gist of the story will be the same. Please read and review - Aries)


	2. Prologue Two

(Hi there, Aries here. I wanted to say a few things before you read this. I'm sorry that updating took so long. Not only have I rewritten this thing about five times, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to begin this thing. Then there was the matter that my computer decided to stop working (several of the keys - afgjl2? - stopped working) and it took me forever to find the On-Screen Keyboard to help me out. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!)

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The Bug

Prologue Two

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"Um, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked nervously. "What are you _doing_?"

This was not one of the things that she had envisioned would happen when she arrived at the hospital that morning.

As soon as Sakura had set foot in the door of the exam room, the Hokage had all but charged towards her second apprentice and then firmly grabbed a hold of Sakura's jaw with on hand. Now not only was Sakura standing uncomfortably close to her teacher, but the older woman was staring at her like she would at a medical textbook.

Her mentor didn't reply to her question. She just kept staring at her in that calculating manner.

Okay, something was definitely wrong.

Without an answer, Sakura looked around the room for an explanation to what the the Hokage was doing. To her relief, in the room along with the Hokage was her loyal trusted first apprentice. As usual, Shizune held her mentor's pet pig Tonton. However, Shizune was additionally holding what looked like a pair of photographs. Shizune looked a little unsettled too, nervously looking from one to the other. It was as if she didn't even notice Sakura's presence.

What the hell was going on?

The day was turning out to be the strangest on she had experienced for a long time. And it all started when her mentor summoned Sakura to the hospital that morning.

Sure, being summoned to the hospital by her teacher was not unusual. It happened on a regular basis, so that wasn't what concerned Sakura so much. It was how the Godaime had summoned her that was bugging her.

How was it different? Well, the ANBU knocking on her door at three in the morning was a big change.

She remembered it quite well too. Sakura had been sleeping, all nice and cozy-warm under the covers, when a banging jolted her awake. She would have normally ignored it, but the knocking wasn't going away. She had no other choice to but to crawl out of her lovely cocoon of blankets to open the door. When she finally got to the door, she swung it open so violently she nearly tore it off the hinges. The only thing stopping her from screaming at the rude intruder was the animal mask covering his/her face.

ANBU. Crap. Had she pissed off Tsunade without remembering?

The specialized ninja merely told her one thing before leaving promptly – she was to report to the hospital first thing at eight o'clock that morning, and she was to act as casual as possible while heading there.

Okay, wait a minute.

Tsunade saw her every day. Couldn't she have just told Sakura when she stopped by later that afternoon? It didn't have anything to do with a mission – she'd just finished one the day before yesterday and her mentor had promised her and her team that they would have at least a week before another one.

Eight o'clock? In the morning? Was this ANBU sure that _Tsunade_ had given this message? When was the last time her mentor got up before noon?

And 'act as casual as possible'? What did Sakura have to be so secretive about? What did Tsunade want her to do that she didn't want others to know about?

Something was up, that was the only thing Sakura knew for sure. Good or bad, she didn't know.

Of course, Sakura didn't really process how odd this message was that early in the morning, as she had gone straight back to bed after the impromptu awakening. It wasn't until good four hours later, when she had gotten a full night's sleep did she stop to think about it. And it was definitely strange.

Needless to say, Sakura was more than eager to get going that morning. But the Hokage had clearly stated that she wasn't supposed to draw attention to herself, and rushing would arouse suspicions.

So Sakura went through with her normal everyday morning routine before she left for the hospital. That included working-out, showering, eating breakfast, calling her mother and so on. With her curiosity peaked, it felt like forever until she was dressed and out the door. However, as she went to perform her last task of her average morning, she found that it took longer than she expected.

Her mother didn't pick up the phone. When _didn't_ her mother answer the phone? Sakura called her every morning since she'd moved into her own apartment. This was because Haruno Kieko was paranoid – possibly neurotically – and the woman wouldn't stop worrying without Sakura's verbal assurance that she was alive and well. So it was safe to say that her mother always picked up the phone – always.

After the third time she called without a reply, Sakura was beginning to become worried. Okay, just another thing to add to her increasingly odd morning. This was definitely turning out to be a strange day.

Somewhat concerned, Sakura decided to take a small detour on her way to see Tsunade. She swung by her mother's house to see her in person, only she found the house empty. Sakura's mother lived alone, seeing as her father died when she was little and she was an only child. Sakura seriously doubted that she was attacked or anything, seeing as though they did live in Konoha after all, but her mother was known for being clumsy. Maybe she fell and hit her head. But there was no evidence of her falling. In fact the house was spotless. That meant no mother either.

Where was she?

On further inspection, Sakura discovered her mother's purse and shoes were gone, so she had obviously left the house willingly. But when was the last time her mother left the house before breakfast? The woman didn't eat until at least nine.

But Sakura didn't have time to stress over these small details, as she quickly remembered how her mentor hated to be kept waiting. Leaving a note saying she was there, she then made a beeline for the hospital.

When Sakura finally arrived, she was about to ask the front desk where the Hokage had stationed herself, only for the nurse behind the front desk to beat her to it. She was directed right upstairs to the hospital's lab, and suddenly she started to worry.

Oh shit! Had she forgotten Blood Test Day again?

Blood Test Day was an infamous annual event that the medic-nin Hokage started when she took office. It comprised of one simple thing; testing the blood of all the active shinobi in the village. It was actually a good idea when one thought about it. What better way of making sure their ninjas were healthy other than to test their blood? It was an excellent way of preventing the spread of diseases and such, seeing as how often their shinobi traveled into foreign or strange lands.

Unfortunately there was only one problem with that plan; most ninja, including those of Konohagakure, were horribly afraid of medical needles. Even their bravest and most seasoned jounin were reduced to whimpering puppies whenever the medics tried to take their blood. It was actually quite pathetic now that Sakura thought about it. That didn't change the fact that Tsunade had created a rule, and all the medics were to help to get samples, even if they had to tie down their patients to get them. And being the Hokage's apprentice was no exception to helping out on that day.

Sakura had forgotten about Blood Test Day the previous year, mistakenly using that day to visit the hot springs instead. Without her being there, Tsunade was more than pissed, and needles to say, lots of hell broke loose all over the hospital because of it.

Sakura definitely didn't want to have to deal with Tsunade fuming about it for the next two weeks. But Blood Test Day wasn't until June, and Sakura was certain that it was still February. She knew it was February because she'd had to put on a sweater that day since it was so cold outside.

Well, it wasn't Blood Test Day, and Sakura never got into trouble for anything other than that, so why had her mentor summoned her to the hospital so strangely that day?

All that had somehow ended her up there in the exam room with Tsunade looking at her face scrupulously.

Then suddenly, her mentor frowned. "Hm," was the only thing she said before she tilted Sakura's head to the one side, then the other. Then up, and then down.

What was she looking for?

Then without warning the sannin let go of Sakura's face and turned directly to her other apprentice. "How the hell do those prove anything?!" she exclaimed wildly, gesturing to the photographs in Shizune's hands. "They don't look at all alike!"

Sakura's brow wrinkled as she gaped at the two women in front of her. What were they talking about? Who didn't look alike?

"Um … Tsunade-sama?" Sakura echoed. "What are you—?"

Tsunade plucked on of the photos from Shizune's grasp before shoving it in the younger woman's face. "All this proves is that this guy had a pink-haired kid!"

Guy? What guy? Who had a pink-haired kid?

Shizune held up her only free hand in defense. "Yes, I agree with you, Tsunade-sama," she replied. "But how do you explain the DNA matching up?"

Whose DNA? What the hell was going on?

Tsunade simply grabbed the two photographs and marched back over to Sakura. She held up the first one in front of Sakura's eyes, and at first she blinked in order to see them clearly. It was of a woman holding a child of around four or five. The woman was very pretty, with long hair tied over her shoulder in a loose ponytail. Her hair was interestingly colored too. It was blond, but in the reflection of the light it glimmered with an almost pinkish hue. However light her hair was, she was fairly young, no more than early twenties from the look of her skin. Her eyes were a light blue.

The child this woman was holding on her hip looked a lot like her, with the same colored eyes. Except he had deep magenta-colored hair. Sakura could tell the child was a little boy by the way he was dressed, in a pair of shorts and tee-shirt. One could hardly see the color of the boy's hair beneath the cap that he wore; it almost covered all of his eyes too.

Wait a minute. Magenta-colored hair. That was the same color hair that her fa—

"Have you ever seen this picture before?" the Hokage suddenly asked, her tone calmer than it was a second ago.

Sakura blinked several times before she answered, studying the picture more closely. But then she slowly shook her head and focused back on her teacher. "No, Tsunade-sama," she answered truthfully.

She was a little more than bewildered. What did this picture have to do with anything?

"Do you recognize anything about the boy - anything at all?" Tsunade then asked.

Sakura turned her eyes back to the photo. She looked the boy over from head to toe more than once. It took her a few seconds before she saw it, but as soon as she did she felt her eyes growing larger. The boy's arm had been wrapped around the woman's neck, so he hadn't seen it at first. On his bicep, peaking out from under his sleeve was a light mark in the shape of a cherry blossom petal. She couldn't see the whole thing, but she knew it was a petal, because she had seen that birthmark before.

Magenta hair? Odd birthmark? Hold on just a second …

"How did you get a picture of my dad?" Sakura asked suddenly in bewilderment, snatching the photo out of her mentor's fingers. She felt like an idiot not recognizing the boy right away. This was her father. Why did Tsunade have a picture of him when he was little?

"Who is this woman with him?" Sakura asked, looking back up to her mentor. Only when she did, both Tsunade and Shizune looked like they had stiffened slightly.

Tsunade didn't answer her question right away. "Are you sure this is your father?" she asked almost grimly. "It's been years since he died, correct? That means you haven't seen him since then."

Sakura nodded her head. "Positive," she replied. "That birthmark is the reason he named me 'Sakura'," she explained. She handed the photo back to her mentor before fishing her wallet from her pocket. "See?"

Sakura presented her own photograph. This one was of her and her parents, the day she was accepted into ninja academy. Her parents were holding her between the two of them, squeezing her with a hug. And clearly evident were two things; her father's hair color, and the mark on his arm. They matched the first photo exactly.

Tsunade stiffened again when Sakura produced this second photograph. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply before she presented Sakura with another picture. "Just take a look at this for a moment," the Hokage instructed.

This one made Sakura pause. There were three people in it. There was a man in it, a version of her father only a bit younger than he was in Sakura's own photograph. He was standing next to a woman that Sakura didn't recognize. This woman was different from the last. Her eyes were light green. Her hair was the color of snow, and she wore it in a long braid down her back. She was very pretty, and looked about only a couple of years older than Sakura. And Sakura was turning sixteen in a little under a month.

Sakura's father and this unknown woman were bent forward as they were looking at the camera. Between them was a baby that looked almost a year old. The two adults were holding up the child while it tried to walk, probably for the first time. It was a little girl, dressed in all pink and wearing a ruffly dress. The baby's eyes were green, much like the woman, and it's pink hair was held up in a bow.

"This is me!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

"Yes," Tsunade confirmed rather grimly. The note of seriousness in her teacher's voice startled Sakura. "That's you."

"But who is this woman?" Sakura asked, pointing to the woman with her and her father. Then she held up the other. "And who is that woman? Who are these people?"

As she asked this, Sakura couldn't help but hear some commotion coming from the other side of the door, but seeing as this was a ninja hospital it wasn't uncommon, so Sakura ignored it. Her mind was more preoccupied at that moment.

Tsunade took all of the photos from her before she held up the first picture that she'd shown Sakura, the one with her father as a little boy. "This is your father, Haruno Ren," she pointed out. "And this is his mother – your grandmother, Sakujō."

Sakura looked at the picture again. Really? Her grandmother? Sakura had never known any of her grandparents. She and her parents moved to Konohagakure right after the Kyubi attacked the city. She was told that they were either dead or lived far away. Her mother never mentioned it, so she never brought it up. She didn't have a reason until that moment.

"And the other one?" Sakura continued. The noise from outside was becoming louder, but she was too curious about the photos to care at the moment. She pointed to the woman holding her when she was a baby. "Who is this?"

Tsunade opened her mouth to speak, only for in that instant the door behind them flew open. Sakura turned around to find her mother, Haruno Kieko, standing in the doorway. She was clearly out of breath, her shoulder-length chestnut brown hair was incredibly unkempt, and her clothes were in disarray. Tear-streaks were visibly running down her face from her puffy red eyes.

"Mama?!" Sakura voice in bewilderment. "What are you—?"

Before she could get all of her words out, the Kieko sobbed loudly before she flung herself onto Sakura, hugging her tightly. "Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry," she begged in a wail. "Please forgive me!"

Sakura had to pause for a few seconds, her brain overloading with how much information it was getting in such a short amount of time. Her mother was clinging to her, crying violently. Her eyes were so puffy they were almost closed. How long had she been crying? As Sakura held the woman, she saw movement near the door. There in the doorway were Izumo and Kotetsu, who looked as out of breath as her mother had been. Had they been chasing her or something?

Shaking her head to clear it, Sakura took a hold of her mother's shoulders in order to pull the woman away from her and look her in the eye. "Mama, please just slow down a second. What are you so sorry for?"

Kieko only sobbed once again, and then as if she suddenly lost all of her strength, her legs gave out.

"Mama!" Sakura exclaimed as she reached out to catch her before she fell.

The woman would've collapsed onto the floor if the two chunin in the doorway hadn't caught her in time.

"Set her down there," Shizune suddenly intervened, directing them to the chairs next to the wall. Her healer's instincts kicked in almost immediately. "She's most likely dehydrated."

Sakura caught glimpses of Shizune and Tsunade's faces as Kieko was being assisted into a chair. They didn't look surprised to see Sakura's mother, only a little worried. Did her fellow apprentice and mentor know Kieko was there? Had her mother been here for some time? Was that the reason she wasn't home that morning?

The chunin duo delicately moved Kieko over to one of the chairs with Sakura's assistance. Once Kieko was seated, Sakura knelt down in front of her. Her mother didn't say anything clearly, but Sakura could hear her muttering apologies over and over again under her breath.

What could have driven her mother in such a state. She was nearly delirious. Kieko was a woman who was always calm and cheerful, collected and organized. But this … this pathetic state was something Sakura had never seen before. What was going on?

"I thought I told you to keep her in the room?" Sakura heard her mentor ask the two chunin. She crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. As she scolded them she directed them to leave the room. "How the hell did she get away from you?"

Sakura didn't listen for the reply, too busy with her mother. Shizune came over with a glass of water gave it to Sakura. She immediately proceeded to help her mother drink it, only in her mother's state, she nearly had to force it down her throat. Once she was hydrated again, her mother looked at her, but then just started to cry again.

"Mama, what is wrong?" Sakura asked insistently.

Kieko held her own face as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Sakura," she replied in barely a whisper. "I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Lie to me?" Sakura echoed. "When did you—?"

"The pictures," the older woman continued. "Didn't Tsunade-sama show you?" She looked almost confused as she glanced up to the Hokage and then back to Sakura.

The Godaime had a surprisingly grim expression on her face.

"You saw the one with you in it, didn't you?" Kieko continued.

Sakura's brow wrinkled in confusion. "The one with Papa and that blond woman?"

Kieko went white as a sheet, beginning to shake a little. She then shook her head urgently. "She's not just some woman, Sakura," she corrected. "That …" she started, but she paused as if she didn't want to say the next few words. "That is—"

"Haruno Satsu," said a brand new voice in the room.

Sakura's head snapped up to look at the newest person in the room.

The woman in the door frame was older, and she looked almost the same age as Tsunade. However, her hair was a dark ebony, tied in a loose knot at the base of her neck. She wore a simple deep green dress, the color complementing the light jade of her eyes. As she came in the room, she closed the door behind her. As she turned to face Sakura, she smiled warmly.

It was only then, when the woman faced her, did Sakura notice something very alarming. Not only did the newest woman in the room look eerily like the white-haired woman in the picture, she also had a very distinguishing feature.

She had a large forehead.

The dark-haired woman bowed politely at Sakura. "Pleased to meet you, Sakura-chan," she said warmly, still smiling. She extended her hand to Sakura in order to help her to a stand. "My name is Mikino."

At first Sakura didn't react, instead she looked towards her mentor. Tsunade only nodded, so Sakura then took the newcomer's hand and rose to her feet. "Good day," she responded politely, to the woman who called herself Mikino.

Her brow wrinkled as she pulled her hand away. "What did you mean, 'Haruno Satsu'?" she asked. She looked to her teacher for answers again. "Who is that?"

"Your mother, Sakura," the Hokage replied seriously. "Your _birth_ mother."

Yes, this was definitely one strange morning.

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... to be continued.

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(Yes, I left a lot of things unanswered - they will be answered in upcoming chapters, I promise you that. I gave you a lot of clues, so if anyone can guess my next few questions, I'll reveal to you a few spoilers! ;-P

1) Why did Tsunade know who Sakujō was?

2) Who is Mikino?

3) If Kieko isn't Sakura's mother, who is she?

For all of you who want to guess, you have to guess via personal message. Do **_not_**, I repeat, do not use the reviews to answer. I don't want to give it away to all you lazy people who don't want to figure it out on your own. But still, please review to tell me what you thought too.

Oh and on another note, that name is Kieko (**キ****エ****コ)**, not Keiko (**ケ****イ****コ**). They are very similar spelling in English, but they are completely different when written in Japanese. They also mean different things. Kieko was named after my Japanese language professor. Arigato Sensei!

For all of you who are confused since it was a lot of information that I've given. In this chapter, we find out that Sakura's father was named Ren. He's currently dead, but his mother was named Sakujō. We also find out that at one point, Sakura's mother was replaced - going from Satsu to Kieko. Now, I'm only recapping everything that has already been said so it makes sense. Now, in case all of you are scratching your heads going 'Why the heck has she told us this?' be assured, it will make sense in upcoming chapters. Please just bare with me a little longer.

Alright, don't forget to review! Thank you again!)


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